Frequently Asked Questions

Buy Foreign Currency

1. How much foreign exchange can I buy in India for the purpose of travelling abroad?
You can buy a maximum of 2,50,000 USD per head or its equivalent in any other currency per trip abroad or in multiple trips abroad per financial year. Out of this, 3, 000 USD or equivalent can be taken abroad as cash (Currency). Remaining amount can be carried in forex card and / or traveller’s cheques.

2. How much foreign currency can I buy in India for the purpose of business trip abroad?
As per RBI guidelines, you can take up to US $2,50,000 or its equivalent per trip while travelling abroad from India for business purposes.Out of this, 3, 000 USD or equivalent can be taken abroad as cash(Currency). RBI updated this limit on July 2015. Before that, it was US $25,000 per trip. If you require more than US $2,50,000, then you need to request prior permission from the Reserve Bank of India.
For further details please refer to this blog post - How Much Foreign Exchange Can You Carry From India For Business Trip Abroad

3. How much foreign currency is available to a person going abroad on employment?
A person going abroad for employment can draw foreign exchange up to USD 2,50,000 from any Authorised Dealer in India.

4. How much foreign exchange is available to a person emigrating abroad from India?
A person going abroad on emigration can draw foreign exchange from AD Category I bank and AD Category II up to the amount prescribed by the country of emigration or USD 2,50,000. This amount is only to meet the incidental expenses in the country of emigration.

5. How many transactions can be done in a month?
For transferring money abroad, there is a limit of 2,50,000 USD equivalent in a year and no limit in the number of transactions.
For buying or selling currency, the customer can do as many transactions in a month as long as it remains within the limit of 3000 USD equivalent (Buying currency) and 5000 USD equivalent (Selling currency - for Resident Indians) respectively.
For NRIs and foreigners, there is no limit in selling foreign currency in India.

6. What are the documents required for buying foreign currency?
Copies of a valid Passport, Confirmed air ticket, Visa (mandatory for some countries) and PAN card (if needed by money changer) are required for buying foreign currency.

7. How many days in advance can a person buy foreign exchange for travel abroad?
Permissible foreign exchange can be drawn 60 days in advance. In case it is not possible to use the foreign exchange within the period of 60 days, it should be immediately surrendered. However, after returning from a trip abroad, residents are free to retain foreign exchange up to USD 2,000, in the form of foreign currency notes or TCs for future use or credit to their Resident Foreign Currency (Domestic) [RFC (Domestic)] Accounts.

8. How much time will it take to deliver the currency?
If the money changer receives the payment before 12 noon, you will get the currency delivered the same day itself. If same day delivery is not possible for some reason, it would be intimated to the customer beforehand itself and the delivery would be made the next day.

Sell Foreign Currency

9. Documents for selling foreign currency?
Any valid photo ID proof such as Passport/Aadhar/Voters ID/Driving License and PAN card. Passport and PAN card are mandatory for transactions above Rs.25000. For forex sell transactions above USD 5,000 or it’s equivalent in others currencies, foreigners/NRIs have to produce the currency declaration form (CDF) form which can be obtained from Airport Customs Authorities.

10. Is Pan card necessary for selling forex?
Most of the money changers or banks insist on receiving a copy of the PAN card. If the exchange is above 50000 INR then PAN card is mandatory.

11. Should the person be present to do the forex transaction?
For buying foreign currency and money transfer abroad, the person should be present to do the forex transaction. In case of selling forex, this is not strictly necessary.

Buy Forex Travel Cards

13. Which all currencies can be loaded in a Forex Card?
As of now, we offer up to 16 foreign currencies to be loaded in a forex card. They are;
1. US Dollar
2. Euro
3. British Pound
4. Australian Dollar
5. Canadian Dollar
6. Japanese Yen
7. Hong Kong Dollar
8. Singapore Dollar
9. Thai Baht
10. Swedish Krona
11. UAE Dirham
12. Swiss Franc
13. New Zealand Dollar
14. Saudi Riyal
15. South African Rand
16. Danish Krone
*The list of currency will change as per the bank/money changer issuing the forex card.

14. Forex card reloading charges?
The fee for reloading a forex card usually starts from Rs. 75 + GST. However, at ExTravelMoney almost all our money changers offer forex cards with zero reloading charges! Forex card will be reloaded with foreign currency at that day’s prevailing exchange rate.

15. Forex card encashment/surrendering charges?
Depending on the money changer you have chosen, the Forex card encashment charges may be Zero or start from Rs. 100 + GST. Yes for encashment or selling foreign currency, there will be a GST and encashment charge which varies according to your forex card.

Money Transfer Abroad (Send Money Abroad from India)

1. Limit for sending money abroad?
2,50,000 USD or its equivalent in any other foreign currency in a financial year.

2. Is it possible to transfer funds across different accounts belonging to the same person?
No, the sender and receiver cannot be same when sending money from India to another country abroad, except in the case of NRI repatriation scheme.

3. What is the limit per transaction for sending money abroad from India?
A maximum of USD 2,50,000 can be sent abroad in a single transaction.
Please Note : This is also the maximum amount of money that can be sent abroad by a resident Indian in a financial year (Approx - Rs.1.50Cr). One can utilise this limit through a single transaction or by breaking it into multiple transactions throughout the year.

4. What are the documents required for money transfer abroad from India?
Senders PAN card copy and Passport/Aadhaar copy. Beneficiary Passport Copy and Relationship Proof (if required). If the money is being sent abroad for any other purpose other than gift/maintenance of close relative, then purpose proof would be required as well.

5. Are there any beneficiary bank charges when sending money to the beneficiary bank abroad?
Yes there is always a beneficiary bank charge/intermediary bank charges that depends on the beneficiary bank and varies from time to time and also according to the country where money is being sent and the beneficiary bank. For banks in US, approximately 12-15 USD are the charges.

6. Time required for the amount to get reflected in beneficiary bank account abroad?
The maximum time taken for getting the amount reflected in beneficiary account is 48 working hours, i.e. two working days if the transaction is done before 2.30 pm by the sender in India

7. Any discount for students, for the purpose of overseas education?
The rate for overseas education is less compared to any other purpose of transfer due to RBI and Government policies.

8. Is it possible to send money abroad for business purposes to a company’s account?
No, the transfers to company accounts are not possible through ExTravelMoney.com. We only support and facilitate transfers from sender’s personal account to beneficiary’s personal account abroad.

9. Should the sender be present to do the money transfer abroad transaction?
Yes, the sender should be present. It is for the safety of the sender & it is the operational process as per RBI guidelines. Door step services for KYC pickup are provided by some money changers based on the volume of transaction.

10. Can money be sent to the account of a foreigner?
No, money can’t be sent to a complete foreigner. The beneficiary must be an Indian Resident / NRI or at least an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card holder.

11. What are the type of accounts from which the money transfer can be done?
The account has to be a personal savings account. If transfer is happening from a joint account then a bank statement showing that particular transaction should also need to be submitted along with the other documents required.

General Transfer Abroad

1. How genuine or transparent are ExTravelMoney about the transactions?
Extravelmoney is a foreign exchange aggregator tied up with RBI authorized money changers in India. Customers can use our portal to find the best forex option in their town or city and book the transaction online. We facilitate the forex transaction on their behalf by coordinating with both the customer and the money changer store.
All the money changers tied-up with ExTravelMoney are RBI approved and licensed to carry out money changing activities. When a customer places a forex order, we provide them with the estimate of their transaction to their email. Also, we are transparent about the status of the forex order as timely updates are intimated to the customer via mail, SMS and phone call from our customer care executives.

2. What are the various modes of payment for buying and selling currency?
Cash transaction upto Rs.50,000 is possible for both buying and selling currency. For buying currency, any amount above Rs.50,000, must be done through NEFT or RTGS. Money changers stores do not have PoS terminals for accepting payments through credit card or debit card. However, Debit card can be used for doing payments through payment gateway. For Money Transfer Abroad, only online bank transfer method is available for payment (NEFT/RTGS).

3. How much Indian currency can a person carry while going abroad?
A resident Indian can take Indian rupee outside India (other than to Nepal and Bhutan) as currency notes up to an amount not exceeding Rs. 25,000 per person.

4. How much foreign exchange can be brought in while visiting India?
A person coming into India from abroad can bring with him foreign exchange without any limit. However, if the aggregate value of the foreign exchange in the form of currency notes, banknotes or travellers cheques brought in exceeds USD 10,000 or its equivalent and/or the value of foreign currency alone exceeds USD 5,000 or its equivalent, it should be declared to the Customs Authorities at the Airport in the Currency Declaration Form (CDF), on arrival in India.

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Currency Exchange Services - Temporarily suspended

We regret to inform you that, due to the ongoing Coronavirus epidemic, most of our partnering money-changing stores in India have suspended their business operations indefinitely.We will keep you updated, once they become fully operational and safe to transact.